For a lot of people, the ocean has not always been the safest place out there with creatures like giant squid and great white shark swimming around in the ocean; however, the ocean is becoming more and more dangerous every year. Piracy is becoming more and more of a frequent occurrence; we have always been hearing of large cargo vessels being raided by pirates and held hostage for large amounts of money, but the threat is becoming more and more real with these pirates now targeting private sailing vessels and holding the passengers hostage.
Piracy in Somalia had sprouted around the second phase of the Somali Civil War when large foreign ships would exploit the nonexistent national coast guard and dump illegal waste. The fishing communities responded by forming armed groups that would deter the illegal dumpers by hijacking their vessels. At first, it began just to keep foreign countries from dumping in their water, but it became very lucrative for them and they continued constantly growing their asking price.
It has been noted that most pirates are young and in an official list created in 2010 that shows that 32/40 apprehended pirate suspects were born in Somalia’s conflict zones. There are 3 categories that pirates are separated into, the local fisherman, ex-militiamen, and technical experts. The local fisherman are typically considered the brains of the pirates’ operations because they are very knowledgeable regarding the ocean. The ex-militiamen are usually used as muscle and intimidation, and the technical experts are the ones that are operating the machinery such as GPS and other technology.
Most of these attacks occur with pirates first approaching the boats or vessels in skiffs that can reach a speed of up to 25 knots. They will use RPGs and other small arms in order to intimidate the operator and crew to stop them so that they are able to board the ship. They will hold the vessel and crew until the home government pays their typically very large ransom. Many of the pirates funding is structured into a stock exchange where investors are buying and selling shares concerning upcoming attacks. If you ever find yourself in the Mediterranean or Indian Ocean, just make sure that you keep an eye out for any pirates on the horizon.